John F. Wasik, Contributor Oct. 13, 2021 The Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA, is going to be 5.9% next year. While that’s a nice bump for retirement benefits, don’t order the party favors just yet. Sure, everyone wants to keep pace with the cost of living. And Social Security is one of the few government programs to do that. Your 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are not indexed to inflation. You get dinged even more when you pay income taxes on that money. Keep i

Ron Carson, Contributor Oct. 12, 2021 The month of October is known for a lot of things, shorter days, cooler temperatures, falling leaves and the arrival of pumpkin spice everything—from baked goods to coffee, yogurt, smoothies, beer—and yes, even pumpkin spice turkey. It also marks the start of Medicare’s annual open enrollment period, which begins on October 7 and ends on December 15, 2021. Why is the start of open enrollment important? Even if you’re years away from eligi

Roger Whitney, Contributor Oct. 11, 2021 If you're within 5 years of retiring, you have a window of opportunity. Don't miss it. A little intentionality now can set the stage for a successful retirement. Years ago, I planned a backpacking trip through the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. I started by casting my vision for my adventure: the trails I'd hike, the team I'd work with, the sights I wanted to see. Then I started working on the logistics and assessing my equipment, deciding o

What do you think of those five words! Pretty inspiring, and according to Asher, this is our family motto! One of his history projects...

Unlike stock investors, those who invest in bonds usually have a way to gauge how risky an investment might be. It’s the rating assigned...

Depending on your age and circumstances, retirement can feel far away and mysterious or achingly close and excitement (or panic)...

The sooner you start saving, the less you have to put away each month to accumulate the needed funds for retirement. For example, say as...

Saving money is a bit like exercising. We all know how important both are, but it can be hard to actually get into the habit of doing...

Protecting your financial accounts and information is extremely important. Here are some steps to help you: Passwords and PINs Create strong passwords that contain numbers, letters, and symbols, and don’t share them or store them on your computer. If you need to write down your passwords and PINs, put them in a secure place. You should change your passwords and PINs on a regular basis. Keep Your Computer Secure It is best to always use your own computer or device to access yo

Hello, I hope this note finds you healthy and hopeful. Of course, there are so many challenges that us individually and our country and...

A pension plan has become exceedingly rare, or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. But that doesn’t mean pensions are not still an...

Your asset allocation mix represents your personal decisions about how much of your portfolio to allocate to various investment...

Hello! I hope you have started to go out and explore again… many clients have taken road trips this summer; some through Colorado, I...

Everyone’s goals for retirement are different. Maybe your dream is to travel the world; maybe it’s to live closer to your grandchildren....

Despite the natural pull investors may feel toward stocks similar to those they’ve had good experiences with, the best way to reduce risk in stock portfolios is to diversify. Diversification is a practice investors use to reduce risk in their stock portfolios, as well as maximizing returns by investing in various industries that will most likely react differently to the same event in the market. To make wise investment decisions, investors must be aware of the two types of ri

Tax-loss harvesting is choosing to sell some investments at a loss to reduce taxes on realized capital gains from other investments. The...

To make sure your retirement isn’t derailed, consider these tips: 1. Start saving now. Because of the power of compounding, starting to save for retirement just a few years earlier can make a huge difference at the end. For example, a 30-year-old puts $400 per month into a tax-deferred retirement plan (like a 401(k)), which generates $1,015 per month in retirement income for 30 years beginning at age 65. For the 35 years that the individual is saving (from age 30 to 65), she

Many people believe they don’t need a will. But how valid are the more common reasons for not preparing a will? Your estate is too...

Retirement planning is a lifelong process. Below are some of the key retirement-planning actions you need to be taking from your 20s through your 60s. Your 20s Start saving. The sooner you can start saving for retirement, the less you’ll have to save overall. If you start saving $5,000 per year at age 25, you’ll have just under $775,000 by age 65, assuming annual returns of 6%. Wait until age 35 to start saving and you’ll have about $395,000 — more than $300,000 less. Also, s

Organizing and planning an estate is not a simple process. After deciding who should receive major assets like your house, business,...